Lady Braves near flawless in twinbill sweep of Darrington

Darrington first responders provided aid and hope aplenty to those impacted by the tragic Oso mudslide.

But there was little Darrington’s high school softball team could do to stop the avalanche of runs posted by the Lady Braves last week.

La Conner pounded out 16 hits in five innings en route to a 20-3 romp in the nightcap of a key NW2B doubleheader on Tuesday.

The Lady Braves had earlier blanked Darrington 3-0 behind a one-hitter tossed by sophomore hurler Olivia Hedlund.

With the twin wins, La Conner improved to 5-0 in league play and 14-3 overall going into a busy slate scheduled this week.

Lady Braves’ head coach Peg Seeling likes the way her club has been playing of late, excelling at all three phases of the game.

In fact, nearly lost amid Hedlund’s pitching gem in the opener and La Conner’s potent offense in the second game was the Lady Braves’ continued prowess in the field.

Seeling’s club committed just one miscue in the two games combined and has been guilty of only a single error over the past three contests.

In short, La Conner isn’t giving foes extra outs needed to mount rallies or put crooked numbers on the board.

“I continue to be thrilled with our defense,” Seeling stressed Friday.

Ditto her team’s depth.

Seeling was able to play all her reserves in the back end of Tuesday’s twinbill and was rewarded handsomely by each.

Lexi Nelson, Briana Porter, and Sarah McCormack all came off the bench to line base hits.

Hedlund, Emma Christianson, Lauren Reynolds, Leanne Swan, and Elizabeth Tripp had multiple hits for the victors.

Hedlund broke the game open with a bases-loaded homer, her team-best fourth circuit clout of the campaign, and added a single and stolen base as well.

Christianson lined a pair of doubles and plated three times.

Reynolds delivered a double and two singles while scoring four runs. She and Christianson are now tied for the team lead in two-baggers, each having seven.

Christianson, who delivered one of La Conner’s seven base knocks in the first game — a clutch two-run roundtripper — has also blasted four triples this season.

Swan collected a double and a single in Tuesday’s second game, while Tripp — ably handling leadoff duties — laced a pair of safeties.

Nakiya Edwards and Chloe Fullington also chipped in singles for La Conner.

It was a much different scene than in the opener, when hits were tough to come by for both teams.

Hedlund helped her cause with a single and a double, matching Tripp.

Swan, like Christianson, pro-vided a big swat. She roped a triple and later tallied for the Lady Braves.

Edwards rounded out the La Conner hit parade with a single.

That was all the support needed by Hedlund, who fanned five batters and allowed just two base runners over seven frames.

Hedlund, now 10-3 in the circle, yielded one double and hit a batter. Other than that, hers was a clean stat sheet. No walks and no runs allowed.

La Conner was to open this week with a Monday home test opposite Friday Harbor. The Lady Braves are at Orcas today, Wednesday, then return home Friday for a rematch with the Lady Vikings, at which time La Conner seniors Madi Cavanaugh and Reynolds will be honored.